Material Witness

By Carolyn Kenney

Will Karla Bannister’s latest design projects put her life in jeopardy again before she can give them the final walk through? Will Karla’s nemesis, Ursula commission her to work on her final project and will it be the end of Karla and Justin?
Karla witnessed men rushing away from a shopping area where she saw her rival Ursula with a man other than Justin. She is so happy for Ursula and mainly for herself. But what happens when Ursula is considered a suspect in her lover’s murder? Guess who she gets to help her out?
Gus Park is a known criminal who made a love connection with Ursula Houlis. But another woman threatens their happiness. A confrontation occurs and Ursula is the likely suspect that puts her career in danger. She asks her Karla to help her prove her innocence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carolyn Kenney
• Release date: Dec 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311823540

Carolyn Kenney

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Carolyn M. Kenney spent the early years of her life in Jersey, City, New Jersey. She returned to her roots in the early 1970 to attend college and be with her extended family.Carolyn landed a job with Fulton County Government's Information Technology department in 1980. She retired in 2006. Before retiring she began her studies in the design field of Residential Planning. She began her studies for Interior Design in the summer of 2006. After taking some time away to write the Karla Banninster novels, she plans to return soon.

Book preview

I want to acknowledge and thank the numerous interior designers and their firms for their assistance. Thank you for your time and guidance. I still have the elevation and detail drawings with the red marked notes as well as all of the instructions you provided. Thank you for giving me permission to use your name in my books. You were a big help.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

About the Author

More Books by this Author

Chapter 1

Thud, clunk went my bolts of fabric settling at my feet. I collided with a human head on who felt like an SUV as I exited the fabric store. The Monday morning sun blinded my eyes, so I missed seeing the person who came from the east.

Why don’t you look where you were going? said the female voice with a touch of a Greek accent. I knew who it was once she spoke her the first word.

Ursula Houlis, I said as I retrieved my bundles. Ursula’s heritage was Greek Russian. Her perfume was obvious – Chanel No. 5. I’d smelled the fragrance many times. It was her favorite.

Karla, my dear. What are you doing in this part of Atlanta? I didn’t think you hung out around Little Five Points.

Little Five Points in Atlanta is a mixture of eateries, stores and side street residents. Neat small homes lined the adjacent side streets.

I could ask you the same question, I said. I spied her holding a vice grip on the man's hand. The man was a known criminal. Gus Park. He was never convicted but often arrested.

I asked first. I haven't seen much of you since you got back from vacation.

No. When I got back, it's been nose to the wheel from day one. I haven't made time to stop in at Justin's. So what are you doing in Little Five Points at 11:00? I said looking at my watch. Shouldn't you be at work?

I have a late surveillance watch. No need to go into the office too soon. Mr. Hartley is in the office with Justin on Mondays. You haven't met him have you?

Not face to face. Justin told me he hired Max just before our trip to Myrtle Beach. I spoke to him on the phone a couple of times after we got back. He sounded nice. All business. He referred to Justin as Mr. Sweeney.

He is. He's a stickler for details. But he does seem to be hard to find when he's not on the job. I think he has some crazy hobby or some sort of exercise class. He’s real fit.

I see you have a new friend.

I'm sure you've seen him in the social section of the papers.

The last time I saw his face in the papers it was concerning a fight at a strip joint. He attacked some man with a broken glass. The man was a no show when the case went to court.

Oh yes. I remember, I said.

Augustus Park, but my friends call me Gus. Miss, he said holding out his free hand for me to shake.

I shook his hand to be polite but made a mental note to use sanitizers as soon as possible. Then I said, Karla Bannister, Mr. Park, I said returning his firm handshake.

You're Ursula's boss's lady. She's told me a lot about you. She says you do great designs. Maybe you can do something to our love-nest.

Thank you, I said. I hope I can.

I was so glad Ursula found someone to take her mind and paws off of Justin. I wished on every falling star for her to find someone to snag. Ursula was obsessed with Justin. I knew you have to be careful of what you wish for but a man is a man as long as he was not my man. Gus was not my choice in men. There were chemistry and history between Ursula and Justin that were deep. Gus was the taboo your mother told you not to bring home. Gus was the dangerous wild type. He'd been in trouble from the day he hit Atlanta. His name was always plastered in some column of a newspaper. Mainly the crime section. He did a little time in jail but someone later confessed to the crime. I remembered he showed up at the hotel opening a few months back. He was tall with dark brown hair. Only a few hints of grey. His age was in his late forties. He displayed a paunch but muscular arms shown from the tightness of his jacket. Eyes as black as coal, he’d make any woman’s heart beat fast. The pencil thin mustache reminded me of the villain in the movies.

She’s too busy for simple people like us, she said holding his hand so tight he shook it to regain circulation.

No. Just get Ursula to give me a call. I’m sure I can find time for your love nest, I said.

Ursula kissed him on the lips. Come on, she told him. We are going to be late for brunch.

They headed in the direction of a Wendy’s. The direction they came from was a mystery to me. There were a number of side streets with modest homes. She towed him along like the tug boat pulling a cruise ship to the dock. He was safe from me. Ursula showed more guts than I ever could when it came to men. But to sleep, eat and kiss face a criminal was more than I’d do, especially sense she often spoke in court to attest to someone’s wrongdoing.

I’d wished for Ursula to find her a man. My wish came true. I felt a smile come to my lips. Whew who, she was off the market. Who cares if the man was a criminal?

# # #

I crossed my fingers while I walked up the four steps to Patricia Lindsey soon to be Mrs. Patricia Markham. I’d inhaled a burger and fries in order to get to Pattie by 12:30. They lived in a section of town called Kirkwood. Their new home was a renovated Cape Cod Style in Avondale Estates. Becca Weaver my boss and I redesigned the home into a 1700 S.F. Low Country Cape Cod Cottage Style. The main floor housed all of the living space. There was a bonus room of 315 S.F.one level below. Next year, the lower level was scheduled to be a man cave for Mr. Earle Markham.

Come on in, she said handing me a glass of iced tea. Earle isn't here right now. He went to pick up some ice cream for dessert.

I took a sip of the tea with a lemon wedge sticking up. The tea was so sweet the lemon didn’t taste sour. No sweetener substitute. Pure cane sure. Lunchtime for the couple was a half hour away. Pattie placed plates on the dining room table. I noticed she placed three plates on the table. I didn’t plan to stay for lunch. Not that the aroma of baked chicken in the house wasn’t tempting but I needed to get the material decision over with as soon as possible.

I found a few more bolts of fabrics. I need your approval before I send the bolts to the upholsterer. We are running out of time and stores. I hope you like the samples I found this morning, I said sitting in the adjacent living room. I prayed that she’d take the hint that I was tired of hopping around the Atlanta area looking for what she didn’t seem to know she wanted.

I pulled out the samples of the newly found treasures. I saw a scowl cross her face. I felt a lump in my throat along with a little steam coming from my ears. Weary was one word that came to mind along with angry that Pattie didn’t see the urgency of the matter.

Did you get the ones I liked before?

I sure did. I didn't want to take a chance the fabric would be sold.

I' like those but not these. I thought we were looking for upholstery fabrics. These look like drapery material.

No. These are for the slipper chairs. The ones you wanted in the sitting room...

I don't care. I don't like these, she said pointing her French manicured finger to the stack she made of the samples and pushed them to me.

Tell me what about these you don't like. I need to know so that I can go back and get the ones you will like. I felt my temper rising. We were five weeks away from Thanksgiving. The couple wanted to celebrate their first Thanksgiving as a married couple in their new home.

I don't like any of them. The color, the weight and I definitely hate that pattern.

But you said you liked paisley.

I like paisley but I want it to be small. Not that large pattern. It looks too much like Art Deco.

I chewed on my cheek and clinched my teeth. I knew these were the ones she asked for after making several changes.

Okay. I'll go back and look for the smaller paisley. Are you sure you want paisley?

Yep. I just want the small squiggly type.

Now, let be sure we have the right paint color for each room, I said pulling out the finish plan.

I don't like the color for the den and I want to change the color for the powder room.

I let out a sigh. Let's go over the finish plans one more time. The paint selections are from Sherwin Williams. The colors are greens, blues and you didn't want any beige or tans.

Well, I want tan in the den. Sand color to be precise. The sand like the sand traps on golf courses. I want a water green in the powder room.

You do realize that the paint has been ordered?

I thought you weren't going to order the paint just yet!

No. You told me to order the paint as soon as possible. You said you wanted to move in after you and Earle got back from your honeymoon.

It's true. We do want to move in right away. I just thought you held off ordering the paint.

I'll have to contact our paint contractor.

I texted our contractor. While we waited, Pattie went through catalogs for accessories.

I like that fan for the kitchen. Do people still put ceiling fans in kitchens? she asked.

We can install anything you want, I said. But we need to complete the ordering right away. If we don’t you and Earle will have to spend a few days here.

Good. I want the ceiling face with the single globe. It is neat, simple and one light bulb to change.

I marked the fan with a check next to the item number. If this one is out of stock, what other fan do you like?

I knew from experience that sometimes items are out of date or stock. She fingered through until she found another one with a simple design but used three bulbs.

The flooring for the mud room that leads to the backyard. Have you decided the color and pattern?

What do you suggest?

A non-skid vinyl tile that will hide dirt and easy to clean, I said showing her a sample tile. It was a medium gray tone on tone.

What color do you have in mind?

How about this gray? Something that will not show a lot of dirt. The ability to keep clean will be important but you don’t want to clean it every hour. The texture will keep anyone from slipping.

I was thinking of something else, she said heading off to another room.

She returned with a tile but it was not the non-skid textured type. The worse thing was that it was a light gray with flecks of white. I like this one. In fact I told Earle to put this in the mud room. Did you see it?

I massaged my forehead when a sharp pain hit. I shook my head in the negative. I’d been through this with another couple like this one started out to be. The client knows more than the designer. Even if it could kill or harm them. I often felt that if the client knew so much why pay an interior designer.

You are talking about the room that leads to and from the back yard and garage? I asked."

Pattie shook her head affirming my fear. He’s already installed the material. Earle can’t do that especially with this material, I said.

It’s too late. I went over there last night. He used six cartons of tiles. We have a few left over for repairs.

I ran my fingers over the tile. You could ice skate over the tile. It was slick without water applied. I’ll have to get a look at that work. We may have to treat the tile or redo the job.

No. We want to keep what’s on the floor.

You will have to sign a waiver because that was part of the job description. Your indecisiveness was what stalled the installation of the flooring. We pride ourselves on safety. Your tiles are not safe, I told her pointing to the tile’s surface.

She rolled her eyes and snatched the tile from me. I’ll sign the damn waiver. I want to keep this one on the floor.

I sent Becca a text message about the flooring. I’ll have the waiver in the morning, I said showing Pattie the reply from Becca. Becca included a stipulation that none of her employees must experience and endure harm from any negligence or Patti and her soon to be husband will be responsible.

As soon as I took the project, I got bad vibes concerning the couple. Their design project was too much like the past - the 1930s on the cheap. Low end vintage. I left her for my next bunch of eccentrics - an office and warehouse renovation.

Chapter 2

The trip to the warehouse site took me north to Scottdale on U.S. Route 29 in north DeKalb County. There are 159 counties and twice as many cities with new ones sprouting up just about every time a new legislative session opens. I tried to start the morning trips as close to downtown and then move north. The Markham Project was naturally first on my list. I started with my clients nearest the office in downtown Atlanta and worked my way up so that when I’m ready to head home or back to the office, I’m headed south toward home.

Once in a while you’re assigned a client that involved more than two people. I drew the short straw. Two projects with more than two individuals made me question my professional decisions. The good is that you get more than one opinion. The bad was that you got too many opinions and no one bothered to be on the same page. A two person project is not bad but more than two is a pain in the ass. The project surveys from those involved came back rumpled if at all. The whole team specified different wants and needs that can be deal breakers. Some even break up good working relationships.

Therefore, I never looked forward to the Axel Bernbach Export Import Warehouse Project. My boss, Becca Weaver passed the project to me after she made the presentation to the three decision makers. She worked through the architectural changes which by the time I took over should’ve been a breeze. The warehouse was enlarged to house additional staff and more goods. Becca presented them with all of the particulars, contracts, drawings and the like. All I did was follow her lead. At least that was my plan. Once I walked in the door, they changed just about everything. The design plan went from total open office style to all closed off sections to a combination of all the plans. I broke out in a sweat just thinking about the upcoming meetings with them. We narrowed down all closed offices who required privacy. For two weeks, I traipsed back and forth with new plans. Once we nailed down the room locations, then we made small steps toward the furniture and equipment. That was when the brakes came out. Axel was the head dog at the shop concerned with the dollars being spent. Then there was the personnel manager and then there was the operations manager. Each one possessed their own idea of the perfect workplace. Once Tomas, the personnel manager got on board, the other manager started bickering over chairs and colors. Who got the better chairs and who got what color went best in the place. Today was supposed to be better - I hoped.

Here is Ms. Bannister, said Axel Bernbach, the owner of the Import Export Business of with an air kiss. I felt a problem. He was too nice and that spelled trouble.

Are you and your managers ready to finalize the rest of the project? We need to get moving.

Phoebe Reddy’s responsibility hinged on the operations of the business while Tomas Pulaski hired and fired the workers. Tomas needed a private office for interviewing purposes. Phoebe wanted an open office so that she would be able to oversee the goings and comings of the staff. However, Axel wanted her to have a closed office so that she would be discouraged from micro managing.

"Well I haven't seen our operations manager since she signed in this morning.